Systems and methods for collecting medical images

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for collecting a plurality of medical images. A method includes displaying a list that includes an indication corresponding to each image of a plurality of medical images of a workflow, wherein the indications are listed based on a sequence defined by the workflow. The method includes receiving a selection by a user indicating a specific image to be acquired from the plurality of medical images. The specific image is selected in an order different than defined in the sequence based on a position of an imaging target allowing for capture of the specific image. The method includes acquiring the specific image and displaying an updated list to omit an indication corresponding to the acquired specific image of the plurality of medical images.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/336,416, filed Dec. 23, 2011, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified functional block diagram of oneembodiment of a system for determining the location of a device on anetwork.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of a method foracquiring a plurality of medical images using a workflow.

FIG. 3A illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of a method forutilizing a secondary workflow in conjunction with a primary workflow.

FIG. 3B illustrates a specific example in which a secondary workflow isinvoked during a primary workflow to document a stenosis identified inthe course of a primary workflow.

FIG. 4 illustrates a conceptual representation of a plurality of primaryworkflows and a plurality of secondary workflows.

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen shot of a system that may be utilized tofacilitate the collection of a plurality of medical images, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen shot that displays various optionsassociated with a system for the collection of medical images that maybe utilized to control the workflow.

FIG. 7A illustrates a screen shot that may be displayed in connectionwith a workflow.

FIG. 7B illustrates a screen shot that may be displayed in connectionwith a primary or secondary workflow relating to a mass.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of a method foracquiring a plurality of medical images using a workflow.

FIG. 9 illustrates a screen shot that may be displayed in connectionwith a workflow in which a plurality of images may be acquired in avariable sequence.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In connection with a variety of medical imaging applications, a varietyof images may be acquired according to a workflow. The images may becollected in a particular order specified by the workflow to facilitatereview by a physician. For example, in connection with an ultrasoundexamination, a particular sequence of images may be specified. Further,in connection with specific types of examinations, specific sequencesmay be specified (e.g., one sequence may be specified for a cardiacultrasound examination and another sequence may be specified for anobstetric ultrasound examination). A variety of types of ultrasoundexaminations may utilize a workflow to standardize the examination. Forexample, the following ultrasound examinations may be associated with aworkflow according to various embodiments disclosed herein: an abdominalexamination, a kidney examination, an early obstetrical examination, alate obstetrical examination, a gynecological examination, a thyroidexamination, a breast examination, a testicular examination, an adult orpediatric cardiac examination, an upper or lower extremity arterial orvenous vascular examination, a carotid vascular examination, etc.According to certain embodiments, workflows may be developed that allowfor flexibility in the sequence of image acquisition. For example, afetal ultrasound examination may involve collecting a plurality of viewsof the fetus. Certain views may be difficult to obtain while the fetusis in certain positions; however, by allowing for flexibility in thesequence in which the images are acquired, the user may acquire otherimages while waiting for the fetus to change positions. Even thoughimages may be collected in a flexible sequence, the images may bereordered upon the completion of the workflow to facilitate review ofthe plurality of images. Workflows may help a user to ensure that eachof a large number of images is collected and uniformly processed, eventhough the sequence of the collection may be variable.

Collection of medical images according to a specified sequence may offerseveral advantages. For example, workflows may be developed and refinedin order to improve the efficiency of the workflow. Further, an operatormay develop expertise and familiarity by collecting images using aspecified workflow. Reliability may be improved by use of a workflow byrequiring that a specified set of images be acquired, and that no imagesare omitted. This improved reliability may also improve documentationrelied upon for legal matters. Use of a workflow may further facilitatetraining of users by helping users to consistently obtain each medicalimage specified by a workflow. Use of a workflow may reduce repetitivemotion injuries by reducing the number of keystrokes and otherrepetitive motions an operator must perform during the course of anexamination.

Analysis of the plurality of ultrasound images may be improved byproviding the plurality of images in a sequence that facilitatesanalysis. For example, a radiologist or other user interpreting themedical images may develop expertise using a workflow and makingdiagnoses using a workflow.

Additional benefits may be realized by coupling the use of a primaryworkflow with secondary workflow that may be invoked by a user on an asneeded basis. For example, during a fetal ultrasound examination, a usermay identify a particular condition necessitating obtaining additionalimages relating to the condition. Secondary workflows may be developedfor a variety of congenital conditions that may be diagnosed usingimages in utero (e.g., certain cardiac abnormalities, limbmalformations, etc.). According to another example, secondary workflowsmay be developed to standardize the documentation of unexpectedpathology encountered during an examination.

In one example, an ultrasound examination system may include a devicefor acquiring medical images that a user can manipulate with one hand,thus leaving the user's other hand free for interaction with theultrasound examination system. In order to facilitate the generation ofultrasound images according to a specified sequence, the system mayinclude a variety of workflows associated with various types ofexaminations.

A variety of types of automation may be included within a workflow. Forexample, a workflow may automate changes in an image acquisition mode(e.g., 2D, M-mode, color, power, pulsed wave, steerable continuous wavedoppler, compound imaging, tissue doppler imaging). A workflow may alsoautomate the annotation of images collected during course of theworkflow. A workflow may automate the collection of various measurementsassociated with the particular image by automatically selecting ameasurement tool for prompting the operator to obtain a desiredmeasurement using a specified measurement tool. In addition, a workflowmay provide context aware assistance to a user during a workflow. Forexample, an on-screen graphic may be displayed to illustrate a locationof a patient's body associated with an image to be acquired during onestep of a workflow.

Standardized workflows may be utilized in the collection of still imagesor video clips using a variety of medical imaging technologies. Inaddition to ultrasound systems, the present disclosure may be adaptedfor use in connection with other forms of medical imaging, including:magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET)imaging, x-ray imaging, computed tomography (CT) imaging. Further, whilemany examples described herein pertain to still images, video images arealso contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure.

The embodiments of the disclosure will be best understood by referenceto the drawings, wherein like elements are designated by like numeralsthroughout. In the following description, numerous specific details areprovided for a thorough understanding of the embodiments describedherein. However, those of skill in the art will recognize that one ormore of the specific details may be omitted, or other methods,components, or materials may be used. In some cases, operations are notshown or described in detail.

Furthermore, the described features, operations, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It willalso be readily understood that the order of the steps or actions of themethods described in connection with the embodiments disclosed may bechanged as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, anyorder in the drawings or detailed description is for illustrativepurposes only and is not meant to imply a required order, unlessspecified to require an order.

Embodiments may include various steps, which may be embodied inmachine-executable instructions to be executed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer (or other electronic device). Alternatively,the steps may be performed by hardware components that include specificlogic for performing the steps or by a combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware.

Embodiments may also be provided as a computer program product includinga machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that may beused to program a computer (or other electronic device) to perform theprocesses described herein. The machine-readable medium may include, butis not limited to, hard drives, floppy diskettes, optical disks,CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or opticalcards, solid-state memory devices, or other types of computer-readablemedia suitable for storing electronic instructions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an ultrasound system 100 that may be utilized inconnection with the systems and methods disclosed herein. System 100 maybe utilized for gathering a plurality of medical images, such asultrasound images. A user may select a plurality of workflows thatfacilitate the collection of a specified plurality of images, which maycorrespond to a plurality of views of a particular area underexamination (e.g., abdomen, heart, thyroid, breast, etc.) or aparticular type of examination (e.g., an obstetric examination).

According to one embodiment, a user may progress through the workflow byacquiring images according to a sequence specified by the workflow. Theworkflow may facilitate the selection of a plurality of imagescorresponding to a particular feature to be shown in a subset of theplurality of images.

In the course of an examination a user may observe an issue that meritsfurther examination. For example, a user may observe an abnormal growth.The user may temporarily suspend a primary workflow in order to gatherone or more images of the growth. The user may invoke a secondaryworkflow that prompts the user to gather a standardized plurality ofimages.

According to one embodiment, system 100 may be utilized in a free formmode in which a user does not utilize a workflow. In a free form mode, auser may acquire a desired image using an image acquisition device. Oncea desired image has been acquired, the user may freeze the image inorder to perform measurements and/or annotations on the image.Annotations may be added using keyboard 110. The user may continue toacquire images until the user has acquired each desired image. While afree-form mode allows for flexibility, the user must annotate each imageand must determine which images have been obtained and which images needto be obtained.

A user of system 100 may use one hand to manipulate a control/navigationinput 120 and keyboard 110 while using the other hand to operate animage acquisition device (not shown). Since a user may require one handfor manipulating the image acquisition device, it is advantageous toallow a user to perform as much of the examination as possible using asingle hand to perform tasks, such as image annotation, makingmeasurements, and directing a workflow. Additional controls 140 may bedisposed in proximity to control/navigation input 120. A touch screen130 may provide an additional user input device that may be used toreceive input and to display information to a user.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 200 foracquiring a plurality of medical images using a workflow. At 210, aselection of a workflow may be received from a user. For example, a usermay be able to select one workflow for a breast examination and selectanother workflow for a cardiac examination. Each workflow may specify aparticular sequence for obtaining a specific plurality of medicalimages. In order to improve the efficiency of collecting and reviewingthe plurality of medical images, the workflow may specify a particularsequence for the collection of the plurality of medical images. Afterthe user selection of a workflow is received, the user may be promptedto acquire a desired image at 215. The user may acquire the desiredimage by positioning an image acquisition device at 220. For example,the user may be prompted to obtain a particular view of a patient'sheart (e.g., a view of the patient's pulmonary valve) during a cardiacexamination.

At 230, a user may optimize an acquired image. Various optimizations maybe performed, including adjustments of contrast or selection of aspecific area of interest. A user may turn on or off Doppler coloration,adjust the contrast of the image, or indicate particular areas ofinterest in the image.

At 235, the image acquisition system may be automatically configuredbased upon the workflow. For example, a variety of modes of an imageacquisition device may be utilized in a single workflow. As describedabove, in embodiments where the image acquisition device is anultrasound system, modes may include 2D, M-mode, color, power, pulsedwave, steerable continuous wave doppler, compound imaging, tissuedoppler imaging. A particular mode may be specified for each image to beacquired during a workflow, and based upon the mode associated with animage to be acquired, the mode of the image acquisition system may beautomatically changed.

At 240, the workflow may determine whether a measurement is to beassociated with the image. For example, in a fetal ultrasoundexamination, a measurement tool may be utilized in connection withvarious images showing measurements such as the circumference of afetus's head or abdomen. The workflow may prompt a user to obtain thedesired measurements at 252. The user may obtain the desiredmeasurements at 254.

At 250, the image may be automatically annotated based on the selectedworkflow. As discussed above, in the free-form mode, the user may berequired to manually annotate each image. One advantage of using aworkflow is that the annotations associated with each image may bespecified and automatically added to each acquired image. Automating theannotations may improve the efficiency of the operator and may improvethe consistency of the annotations while reducing the potential foroperator error.

At 260, the annotated image may be stored or printed for laterexamination. According to various embodiments, images may be storeddigitally, together with annotations, measurements, or otherinformation. According to other embodiments, the annotated image may beprinted together with information regarding measurements.

At 270, it may be determined whether additional images are to beacquired based on the selected workflow. If additional images are to beacquired, method 200 may return to 220. If no additional images are tobe acquired, method 200 may terminate.

According to one embodiment, a user may interrupt a workflow and resortto a free-form mode in order to investigate conditions or abnormalitiesdiscovered during an examination. For example, during a fetal ultrasoundexamination, a user may identify a condition, such as a malformed limb,that requires the acquisition of additional images relating to thecondition. Once the images relating to the condition have been obtained,the user may resume the workflow. While this embodiment allows the userconsiderable flexibility to investigate conditions or abnormalitiesdiscovered during an examination, additional advantages may be realizedby allowing a user to select a secondary workflow relating to theidentified condition or abnormality.

FIG. 3A illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 300 forutilizing a secondary workflow in conjunction with a primary workflow.At 310, a primary workflow is in progress. For example, an operator maybe conducting an ultrasound examination and in the course of theultrasound examination, the operator may notice a condition or anomalythat merits investigation and the collection of additional medicalimages. At 312, it may be determined whether a secondary workflowcommand has been invoked.

When a secondary workflow command is invoked at 312, the primaryworkflow is suspended at 314 during the completion of a secondaryworkflow. At 316, a selection of a secondary workflow may be received.In order to facilitate the selection of a secondary workflow, a user maybe presented with a variety of secondary workflows that are related to aprimary workflow. For example, during an obstetric ultrasoundexamination, secondary workflows relating to various birth defects maybe presented when a user invokes the secondary workflow command.

Following the selection of a secondary workflow, the secondary workflowmay follow method 200 for acquiring a plurality of medical images. Acomplete discussion of method 200 is included above in connection withthe discussion of FIG. 2. According to various embodiments, othermethods for the collection of the plurality of images associated withthe secondary workflow may be utilized in place of method 200.

FIG. 3B illustrates a specific exemplary workflow 350 that includes aprimary workflow 310 and a secondary workflow 320. Primary workflow 310comprises a portion of a workflow for a carotid vascular examination.Secondary workflow 320 comprises a workflow for a stenosis. At 360, animage may be acquired of a right distal common carotid artery, and at362, an image may be acquired of a proximal right internal carotidartery. A stenosis may be identified at 362, and accordingly, anoperator may invoke a secondary workflow at 364.

Secondary workflow 320 includes three images acquired at 366, 368, and370 that document the stenosis. In the illustrated embodiment, thestenosis is identified during the acquisition of an image of the rightproximal internal carotid artery. Accordingly, each image associatedwith the stenosis may use the label associated right proximal internalcarotid artery, “Rt ICA Prox,” as a root and may attach a suffixspecific to each image. According to the illustrated embodiment, thesuffixes comprise “Pre Stenosis,” “Stenosis,” and “Post Stenosis.” Thisnaming convention, in addition to describing the images associated withthe stenosis, also provides an indication of where in the ultrasoundexamination the stenosis was identified.

Upon the completion of secondary workflow 320, primary workflow 310 mayresume 372. According to the illustrated embodiment, two additionalimages are acquired, namely a right mid internal carotid artery image,at 374, and a right distal internal carotid artery, at 376. As describedabove, when a secondary workflow is invoked, the primary workflow may besuspended during the completion of the secondary workflow.

FIG. 4 illustrates a conceptual representation of a plurality of primaryworkflows and a plurality of secondary workflows. A user may initiallybe prompted to select a workflow related to the collection of a desiredplurality of medical images. A workflow selection may include aplurality of primary workflows (e.g., Primary Workflow 1, PrimaryWorkflow 2, Primary Workflow N), and the plurality of secondaryworkflows associated with one or more of the primary workflows.Secondary workflows may relate to one or more primary workflows and maybe presented to the user when a primary workflow is interrupted, inorder to readily provide access to relevant secondary workflows. Thesecondary workflows may be structured so as to achieve many of theadvantages associated with the use of a primary workflow, while stillallowing a user to have considerable flexibility to investigateanomalies discovered during an examination. For example, a secondaryworkflow associated with a cardiac examination may address a vascularstenosis (i.e., a narrowing of a cardiac blood vessel), stenosis of acardiac valve (i.e., Aortic Valve, Mitral Valve), or regurgitation ofcardiac valves (i.e, Mitral Valve, Aortic Valve, Pulmonic Valve,Tricuspid Valve). Primary workflows associated with abdominal,obstetric, breast, gynecological, or thyroid examinations may beassociated with secondary workflows relating to a mass (i.e., ananomalous solid structure) or a cyst (i.e., a fluid filled structure).

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen shot 500 of a system that may be utilized tofacilitate the collection of a plurality of medical images, according toone embodiment. As illustrated, screenshot 500 allows a user to adjust avariety of settings associated with a system for collecting a pluralityof medical images. The illustrated embodiment is an ultrasound system;however, other types of medical imaging systems may be utilizedaccording to various embodiments. Screenshot 500 may be displayed on atouch screen, and a user may select various options using the touchinterface. According to other embodiments, a pointing device, such asmouse, may be utilized. As illustrated in FIG. 5, a workflow manager maybe invoked using command 510.

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen shot 600 that displays various optionsassociated with a system for the collection of medical images that maybe utilized to control the workflow. A stop command 610 may be utilizedto permanently stop a workflow. A suspend command 620 may be utilized tosuspend a workflow and operate the image acquisition system in a manualmode. A repeat command 630 may be utilized in order to includeadditional images associated with a step of a workflow. Other commands,such as a replace command 640, a delete command 650, a review command660, a previous command 670, and a next command 680 may be utilized tonavigate the workflow.

A secondary workflow command 690 may be used to invoke a secondaryworkflow during a primary workflow. The secondary workflows that aredisplayed by invoking secondary workflow command 690 may relate to theprimary workflows. For example, if the primary workflow is directedtoward a breast examination, secondary workflows associated with theprimary workflow may relate to conditions that are commonly discoveredduring a breast examination.

FIG. 7A illustrates a screen shot 700 a that may be displayed inconnection with a workflow. The screen shot may be a part of a workflowrelating to breast examination. Screenshot 700 a includes an ultrasounddisplay area 730 a for displaying an ultrasound image. The image mayinclude a label 710 a based on the workflow. As described above,labeling a plurality of images using a workflow may result in greaterconsistency and efficiency in the collection and subsequent analysis ofthe plurality of medical images.

A context-sensitive control/navigation indicator 720 a may be displayedto provide control/navigation options to a user based on the workflow.According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7A, context-sensitivecontrol/navigation indicator 720 a may correspond to acontrol/navigation input available to a user, such as control/navigationinput 120, shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 7A, context-sensitivecontrol/navigation indicator 720 a indicates that the left and rightbottom buttons may move between a previous item and a next item in theworkflow, while the left and right top buttons adjust the field-of-view(FOV) size. Context-sensitive menu areas 750 a and 760 a may providerelevant information to a particular action in the workflow or relevantto system settings.

A previously acquired image bar 740 a may be provided and may beutilized by a user to return to the previous portion of the workflow.The images displayed in previously acquired image bar 740 a maycorrespond to the sequence in which the images were collected accordingto a workflow. A user may be able to return to a previous portion of theworkflow by selecting an image from previously acquired image bar 740 a.

FIG. 7B illustrates a screen shot 700 b that may be displayed inconnection with a primary or secondary workflow relating to a mass.Context sensitive menu areas 750 b and 760 b display information relatedto the workflow. Context sensitive area 750 b includes a menu allowingfor selection of up to five separate masses. An indicator, such as abox, may indicate which mass is currently under examination. Contextsensitive area 760 b may include various measurements associated witheach mass. For example, the length (“L”), width (“W”), and height (“H”)may be measured for each mass. A measurement indicator 770 b may beshown, and may be utilized by the user in obtaining the desiredmeasurement. An annotation 710 b may be added automatically to the imagebased upon the workflow. Context-sensitive control/navigation indicator720 b may display functions related to the portion of the workflow beingcompleted by the user.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 800 foracquiring a plurality of medical images using a workflow. At 802, aselection of a workflow may be received from a user. In particular,workflows utilized in connection with method 800 may benefit fromflexibility in the sequence of image acquisition. For example, a fetalultrasound examination may involve collection of a plurality of views ofthe fetus. Certain views may be difficult to obtain while the fetus isin certain positions. By allowing for flexibility in the sequence inwhich the images are acquired, the user may acquire other images whilewaiting for the fetus to change positions. Even though images may becollected in a flexible sequence, the images may be reordered upon thecompletion of the workflow to facilitate review of the plurality ofimages.

After the user selection of a workflow is received, a systemimplementing method 800 may present a user with a list of images to beacquired at 804. At 806, a user may receive a selection of an image tobe acquired. At 807, the user may be prompted to obtain the selectedimage. At 808, a user may acquire an image by positioning an imageacquisition device. At 810, a user may optimize an acquired image.Various optimizations may be performed, including adjustments ofcontrast or selection of a specific area of interest.

At 811, the image acquisition system may be automatically configuredbased upon the workflow. For example, a variety of modes of an imageacquisition device may be utilized in a single workflow. A particularmode may be specified for each image to be acquired during a workflow,and based upon the mode associated with an image to be acquired, themode of the image acquisition system may be automatically changed.

At 812, the workflow may determine whether a measurement is to beassociated with the image. For example, in a fetal ultrasoundexamination, a measurement tool may be utilized in connection withvarious images showing measurements such as the circumference of thefetus's head or abdomen. The workflow may prompt a user to obtain thedesired measurements, at 820. The user may obtain the desiredmeasurements at 822. At 814, the image may be automatically annotatedbased on the selected workflow. The annotations may include a labelindicating the particular view shown in the image, and/or anymeasurements associated with the image.

At 816, the annotated image may be stored or printed for laterexamination. According to various embodiments, images may be storeddigitally, together with annotations, measurements, or otherinformation. According to other embodiments, the annotated image may beprinted together with information regarding measurements. At 818, it maybe determined whether additional images are to be acquired based on theselected workflow and/or whether the workflow is complete. In assessingwhether a workflow is complete, a system implementing method 800 maydetermine whether additional images are included in the selectedworkflow that are have not yet been acquired. According to certainembodiments, if additional images are included in the selected workflowthat have not yet been acquired, the user may be prompted to indicatewhether the user wants to return to the workflow to obtain the images,or whether the user desires to exit the workflow without obtaining theimages. If additional images are to be acquired, the list of images tobe acquired may be updated at 824. If no additional images are to beacquired, the images may be arranged according to a specified sequence,at 826, and method 800 may terminate. As discussed above, certainefficiencies may be realized by presenting the plurality of imagesaccording to a radiologist, or other medical professional, according toa particular sequence that may facilitate the review of the plurality ofimages. Method 800 may be utilized, in various embodiments, with asecondary workflow, as described in connection with FIG. 3A.

FIG. 9 illustrates a screen shot 900 that may be displayed in connectionwith a workflow in which a plurality of images may be acquired in avariable sequence. The screen shot may be a part of a workflow relatingto a fetal examination. Screenshot 900 includes an ultrasound displayarea 930 for displaying an ultrasound image. A context-sensitivecontrol/navigation indicator 920 may be displayed to providecontrol/navigation options to a user based on the workflow.Context-sensitive control/navigation indicator 920 indicates that theleft and right bottom buttons may move between a previous item and anext item in the workflow. A previously acquired image bar 940 may beprovided, and may be utilized by a user to return to the previousportion of the workflow. The image displayed in previously acquiredimage bar 940 may correspond to the sequence in which the images werecollected according to a workflow.

Context-sensitive menu areas 950 may provide relevant information to aparticular action in the workflow. Context sensitive area 950 includes amenu listing a plurality of images to be acquired. After selecting oneof the images displayed in context sensitive area 950, a workflow mayannotate the image, and if measurements are associated with the image,may prompt a user to make the associated measurements. According to theillustrated embodiment, a measurement of the abdominal circumference(“AC”) is associated with the image. Based on the abdominalcircumference, the gestational age (“GA”) of the fetus may be determinedand displayed, together with the expected date of delivery (“EDD”).According to one embodiment, the list of images displayed in contextsensitive area 950 may display only those images that are to beobtained, while those images that have already been obtained are omittedfrom the list. Accordingly, a user may readily determine whether eachimage in a specified workflow has been obtained by determining whethercontext sensitive area 950 includes additional images.

It will be understood by those having skill in the art that many changesmay be made to the details of the above-described embodiments withoutdeparting from the underlying principles disclosed herein. The scope ofthe present invention should, therefore, be determined only by thefollowing claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for collecting and annotating aplurality of medical images comprising: an image acquisition device toacquire image data; a processor communicatively coupled with the imageacquisition device to process the image data; and memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processorto: receive from a user a selection of a workflow specifying a firstsequence of medical images to be acquired by the user in a particularorder via the image acquisition system; display a representation of theworkflow to the user, wherein the representation comprises selectableindications of each medical image to be acquired in the first sequence;in response to the user acquiring a specific image out of the order ofthe first sequence: allow the user to select one of the displayedindications corresponding to the specific image; automatically annotatethe specific image according to the workflow and the selectedindication; and remove the selected indication corresponding to thespecific image from the representation of the workflow; and in responseto acquiring all of the medical images in the first sequence, reorderthe acquired images according to the first sequence.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the image acquisition device comprises an ultrasoundsystem.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further storesinstructions that cause the processor to prompt the user to acquire ameasurement for the specific image.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe workflow further defines an associated measurement associated withthe specific image, and wherein the memory further stores instructionsthat cause the processor to obtain the measurement.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions that cause theprocessor to: receive a selection of a secondary workflow correspondingto a second sequence of medical images; collect the second sequence ofmedical images; and upon completion of the collection of the secondsequence of medical images, resume collection of the first sequence ofmedical images.
 6. A method for collecting and annotating a plurality ofmedical images, comprising: receiving from a user a selection of aworkflow specifying a first sequence of medical images to be acquired bythe user in a particular order via the image acquisition system;displaying a representation of the workflow to the user, wherein therepresentation comprises selectable indications of each medical image tobe acquired in the first sequence; in response to the user acquiring aspecific image out of the order of first sequence: allowing the user toselect one of the displayed indications corresponding to the specificimage; automatically annotating the specific image according to theworkflow and the selected indication; and removing the selectedindication corresponding to the specific image from the representationof the workflow; and in response to acquiring all of the medical imagesin the first sequence, reordering the acquired images according to thefirst sequence receiving a selection by a user indicating a specificimage to be acquired from the plurality of medical images, wherein thespecific image is selected in an order different than defined in thesequence based on a position of an imaging target allowing for captureof the specific image; acquiring the specific image; and displaying anupdated list to omit an indication corresponding to the acquiredspecific image of the plurality of medical images.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the method further comprises prompting the user toobtain a measurement for the specific image.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein the workflow further defines an associated measurementassociated with the specific image, and wherein the method furthercomprises obtaining the measurement via the image acquisition system. 9.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructionsthat, when executed by a processor, are configured to cause theprocessor to perform a method for collecting and annotating a pluralityof medical images, the method comprising: receiving from a user aselection of a workflow specifying a first sequence of medical images tobe acquired by the user in a particular order via the image acquisitionsystem; displaying a representation of the workflow to the user, whereinthe representation comprises selectable indications of each medicalimage to be acquired in the first sequence; in response to the useracquiring a specific image out of the order of the first sequence:allowing the user to select one of the displayed indicationscorresponding to the specific image; automatically annotating thespecific image according to the workflow and the selected indication;and removing the selected indication corresponding to the specific imagefrom the representation of the workflow; and in response to acquiringall of the medical images in the first sequence, reordering the acquiredimages according to the first sequence.
 10. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 9, wherein the workflow further defines anassociated measurement associated with the specific image, and whereinthe method further comprises obtaining the measurement or prompting theuser to obtain the measurement.